Nurse(s) Fired for Refusing Flu Shot...Thoughts?

[readyin07]

news.yahoo.com/nurses-fired-refusing-flu-shot-224637902--abc-news-health.html

Sorry, can't make a link. IDK, it clearly is in patient's best interests for all medical personnel to have a flu shot. But I am also not super excited about my place of employment telling me what I MUST do with my body. If it was a condition of employment, fine but to me this is different. That being said it's at will employment..

[cjeanette]

When H worked at a Children's Hospital the flu shot was not an option.

[ijack]

I don't even see how there is controversy here. Of course medical professionals should get the flu shot.

[Kore]

Zero sympathy. Find a different job.

[readyin07]

I have quite a few friends who are nurses and I think you would be VERY VERY surprised at how many of them do not get a flu shot.

[Susie]

Do nurses have to have other vaccinations (Hep B, etc.)? I did when I worked as an ocean lifeguard. I don't see a flu shot as being different.

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2013 16:53:23 GMT -5 readyin07 said:

I have quite a few friends who are nurses and I think you would be VERY VERY surprised at how many of them do not get a flu shot.

At my H's hospital, medical professionals have to provide documentation that they received the flu shot.

[cjeanette]

Jan 4, 2013 16:53:23 GMT -5 readyin07 said:

I have quite a few friends who are nurses and I think you would be VERY VERY surprised at how many of them do not get a flu shot.

Their employer didn't provide it to them?

[y4m]

There is a small universe of legitimate reasons to refuse--like having a severe egg allergy. But assuming there's nothing like that going on here--this seems like a reasonable requirement of her job.

[nsl]

Yeah, no sympathy from me either. The flu can be fatal--getting vaccinated when your job is to care for people whose immune systems are by definition already compromised seems like the least you could do.

[womet]

Jan 4, 2013 16:54:30 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

Jan 4, 2013 16:53:23 GMT -5 readyin07 said:

I have quite a few friends who are nurses and I think you would be VERY VERY surprised at how many of them do not get a flu shot.

At my H's hospital, medical professionals have to provide documentation that they received the flu shot.

But overall the vaccination rate for health care practitioners is abysmal. I think that it's perfectly acceptable for hospitals to require documentation of vaccination (or a medical waiver) from their staff.

[Deleted]

Zero sympathy here either. Sorry.

[mellymel]

I agree with the decision. Think about the immuno-compromised patients in hospitals. Especially cancer patients. OMG. Zero sympathy from me. At all.

[whitepicketfence]

No sympathy from me either.

[nsl]

Jan 4, 2013 16:57:24 GMT -5 womet said:

Jan 4, 2013 16:54:30 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

At my H's hospital, medical professionals have to provide documentation that they received the flu shot.

But overall the vaccination rate for health care practitioners is abysmal. I think that it's perfectly acceptable for hospitals to require documentation of vaccination (or a medical waiver) from their staff.

The hospital where H works actually sends a vaccination cart around to various departments for a couple of weeks. Everyone with an employee ID badge gets a shot.

[limey]

Zero sympathy from me.

(Assuming no legitimate medical need such as egg allergy, etc..)

[hellonurse]

I haven't read the replies yet (or the article), but these were oncology nurses, yes? Which would mean that odds are that they are working with severely immunocompromised patients. So absolutely they should have to have the flu shot, imo.

[readyin07]

I have never asked specifically if it was provided or offered...I will say none of the nurses I am referring to work in a hospital, peds, geriatric or family care. They are all specialized - the ones I am thinking of are in dermatology, cardiac and pain management.

[LoveTrains]

Jan 4, 2013 16:52:18 GMT -5 Kore said:

Zero sympathy. Find a different job.

Agreed. One of them was an oncology nurse who works with immuno-compromised people.

[Deleted]

I think everyone knows my opinion on this subject. Lol

[vtdiamond]

I work for a hospital where we are all required to get one regardless of if we have patient contact. They offer flu shot clinics for the month of November. People are only excused for medical reasons and this year people were written up or suspended if they didn't get one.

[fortmyersbride]

Well I think it may have been a bit harsh of a reaction their first year of implementation. Most hospitals do allow some absolute exceptions. For example, DH works at a pedi hospital and the vaccine is "mandatory" aka if you don't get it you have to wear a mask at all times when in the hospital during flu season. This is enforced by special badge attachments you receive with proof of vaccine.

As to why some healthcare providers get up in arms about it? Well there's the ongoing question of influenza vaccine induced guillain barre synd. I think most of the recent literature suggests the post vax incidence is similar to the idiopathic occurrence rate in the community. But, it's a very devastating condition, from which some people never fully recover. And I imagine that the critical care nurse in this article has seen a case or two of it. So if one associates flu vax=GBS risk, I can understand having some fear or mistrust towards the vax.

[zacksbride]

We are required to get the shot at my work- unless you have an allergy, etc. If you refuse the vaccine you are required to wear a mask at all times during patient contact during the few months of flu season

[orangeblossom]

No problem with it whatsover. As womet stated the rate of healthcare professionals, and I'm not just talking nurses is not good at all. It is improving, but a lot of it is due to mandates.

[fortmyersbride]

Jan 4, 2013 17:57:55 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

My mother wants to fire someone now for this very thing. Unfortunately, her hospital group will not officially mandate it for another month or so, but once that happens, this person will be out if she's still not taken appropriate actions. It doesn't even have to be an actual shot. It's so reckless and juvenile that it's annoying. Besides this is not the only place of employment that mandates certain things employees must do with their bodies. Most people who work in prisons have to get TB shots, if the employees don't like it, cool, move on, but you don't get to put hundreds or thousands of people at risk because you don't want a shot.

We don't vaccinate for TB in the US. What you're referring to is the TB screening test. A minor point I know, but I just wanted to point out that it isn't an already mandatory vaccine, but rather the ppd test.

[liveintheville]

I worked non clinical at Dana Farber in my early twenties. We were all early twenties. And we freaking JUMPED at the chance to get free vaccines and flu shots. And yes it was required to have MMR and flu as were TB screenings. But we did get others like Hep A for free and that was optional. We got free HIV tests as well.
Even to volunteer, let alone be employed, at a Partners hospital you must be vaccinated.

[Mrs.Beagle]

My employer requires it, when H worked at a hospital, his employer required it. It's not unusual.

[fortmyersbride]

FTR, I really just think they should have gone about this a better way. I do think a lot of the non-compliance in healthcare is due to fear of side effects. In-services about the real risks and benefits, and educational promotions would have gone over way better than a mandate with no other discussion. Plus throw in some food or other incentives for units or depts that were the first or fastest for 100% compliance.

And for everyone who is saying she is better off gone, we have a serious critical care nursing shortage in many (if not all) parts of this country. So yes it does the patients and hospitals when these nurses decide to leave or are fired for this reason.

[mollybrown]

I'm perfectly okay with this. There are other fields that don't require flu shots that they can move on to if this is an issue. I don't understand why someone working with vulnerable populations wouldn't do everything possible not to pass on illness.

[orangeblossom]

Jan 4, 2013 18:36:06 GMT -5 mofongo said:

I work in a large hospital and I specifically work with an immunosuppressed population. The hospital, 2yrs ago, started to make the flu shot mandatory. I get it and am ok with it, however, some people aren't. One of my co-workers has an egg allergy and another one has Lupus and her MD recommends she not get it, there are other health issues that may prevent someone from wanting a flu shot. Others have more personal reasons.

I have a problem with them forcing us to do something. The rule, at my hospital, is that if you are not vaccinated, you are supposed to wear a mask in patient care areas. My co-workers also had to provide documentation for their medical reasons of refusal. I have yet to see the mask rule implemented.

I don't have a problem with medical exemptions like you listed above. There has to be an exception to the rule, for example those with medical exemptions, or else a healthcare facility is setting themselves up for problems, but if you know the rules, new or not, you have to take action.

Mandatory programs come in all shapes and sizes.

You can have "highly" suggested rules and personnel who don't take it, have to sign a declination form. The declination will mostly likely have rules for wearing mask.

You can have mandatory where only medical exemptions are given and if you refuse you're fired.

I'm sure there are other variations, but just "asking" is not getting increasing the number of healthcare workers get the flu shot. You have to do something and for some hospitals mandatory programs or some variation of it is the way to achieve that.